More Press Release Follies
It is generally a good thing when a law firm issues a press release and as a result gets mentioned in the newspaper. I mean, that's the idea right? A press release is designed to garner attention. But it's not nearly as good if the attention consists of the reporter making fun of the content of the release and the law firm's motive for issuing the release in the first place.
Here, the Baltimore Sun's Jay Hancock takes aim at a local law firm with a blog post titled "Bowie & Jensen: Look at us! We're suing Ne-Yo!"
Hancock's primary target is a paragraph in the release listing all of the various awards and accomplishments of the defendant in the suit, whom I gather is a pretty well-known R&B singer. Here's what Hancock thinks: "Bowie & Jensen has put out a news release that's less about the merits of the case and a lot more about the fact that they're suing a famous musician and want you to know it."
Hancock plays it fair by contacting the author of the release for comment. But before revealing the author's explanation, Hancock comes off the top rope with a foreign object: "Karen McGagh, who wrote the press release for Bowie & Jensen, disavows any and all intention to draw cheap attention to the firm by seeming to go googy-eyed over a rap-star legal opponent."
At this point, I think it's fair to say this release has not had the intended effect, unless you are of the school of thought that any publicity is good publicity.
As I discussed here, law firms need to be very careful when issuing any kind of press release. The key idea is that it needs to always be about the client and the case. After reading the whole news release, I think that is what they were going for. The error was in the execution. I'm not a big fan of pre-trial press releases. Win the case. Then issue a press release. But if you do one of these pre-trial, its not a bad idea to make it about your client, rather than how famous the guy you are suing is.
When a law firm's news release results in the need to deny trying "to draw cheap attention to the firm," maybe it is better to refrain from commenting until a favorable result is achieved.
On the other hand, this news release seems to have also resulted in much more favorable treatment from the Maryland Daily Record. There, Rachel Pryzgoda turns in a pretty even-handed news item about the case with quotes from counsel for both sides, without making fun of either. I guess no two reporters are alike.
